Embryo glossary - Sheet4

Question 1

stem cell

Answer 1

A precursor cell which has the indefinite ability to make more copies of itself and of differentiated daughter cells

Question 2

stem cell niche

Answer 2

A specialized environment that normally is necessary for the maintenance of stemness

Question 3

progenitor cell

Answer 3

A precursor cell which has limited capacity to make copies of itself and differentiated daughter cells, often derived from a stem cell

Question 4

population asymmetric stem cell division

Answer 4

Collective behavior of stem cells where the numbers of differentiated daughter cells and stem cells are the same, although the fates of daughters of a given stem cell are probabilistic

Question 5

embryonic stem cells

Answer 5

Early embryo cells in culture which can produce derivatives of all three primary germ layers

Question 6

totipotent

Answer 6

The property of being able to give rise to all the tissues of the conceptus

Question 7

pluripotent

Answer 7

The property of being able to give rise to derivatives of all three primary germ layers

Question 8

multipotent

Answer 8

The property of being able to give rise to different cell types

Question 9

reprogramming

Answer 9

The process of reverting a differentiated cell type to a pluripotent cell type

Question 10

induced pluripotent stem cells

Answer 10

Reprogrammed cells which have the properties, including pluripotency, of embryonic stem cells

Question 11

naive and primed

Answer 11

Naive pluripotent stem cells are similar in state to inner cell mass cells whereas primed pluripotent stem cells are similar in state to epiblast cells

Question 12

gene editing

Answer 12

The targeted, intentional change of DNA sequences in the genome, for example as by CRISPR/Cas9

Question 13

CAR T cells

Answer 13

Chimeric Antigen Receptor T cells: Transgenic T cell progenitors with altered specificity, often to kill cancer cells